1881.] The Squid of the Newfoundland Banks. 371 
When at night the day’s catch is brought on board, the men 
proceed to preserve the squid either by salting them or by plac- 
ing them in ice. In case the season is growing late the skipper 
has several thousand well salted and stowed for use when fresh 
squid can no longer be had. But most of the squid are sand- 
wiched in layers of two or three deep between layers of fine- 
ly broken ice in bait bins in the vessel’s hold. Twenty-five or 
thirty thousand are thus cared for at a “baiting” and will keep in 
fit condition for use from two to three weeks. In using them 
each squid is cut into about five pieces and one piece is used for: 
each hook. The hooks are usually well cleaned by the carnivor- 
ous gastropoda which infest the banks and by the various fish 
which are not caught, so that the same piece of squid is rarely 
used on two occasions. The fish do not bite with the same avid- 
ity at the last of the baiting, the fresh bait securing by far the 
most fish. The salt squid is nearly useless in the summer and 
early fall, but late in October, I am told, that they are used with 
considerable success. 
In what I have said, I have made no mention of any use of the 
Squid save by the Americans, but I cannot leave thesubject without 
a brief mention of other uses fully as important as this. The New- 
foundlanders themselves use an enormous number, both for bait 
in their shore fisheries, and as a fertilizer for their land. I have 
been assured, also, that they are good to eat, but though food 
materials are not abundant on the island, they are not put to this use 
there so far as I know. The French, moreover, have very extensive 
fisheries on the Newfoundland coast fully as important as the 
American, I. should judge, their vast size being insured by a 
bounty offered by the government to fishermen, and by the prac- 
tice of reinforcing the numbers from among the national convicts. 
These French vessels do not seek their own bait as is the case 
among Americans, but are supplied by vessels, which make 
a specialty of collecting bait, and spend their time alternately in 
its search, and in its delivery. To a very large extent, I under- 
Stand, the French use salt bait, they being content with small 
catches, while the American is disgusted unless he makes fine 
hauls every day. 
And having thus seen the present importance of this industry, 
does it not seem strange that it has existed but ten or fifteen 
_ years, and that, previously for one hundred and fifty years, innu- 
